'Chimpanzee' review: Film is interesting, affecting

View full sizeMartyn Colbeck/Courtesy DisneyOscar the chimpanzee eats a honeycomb in Disney's "Chimpanzee."

"Chimpanzee," a new film from Disney's nature-documentary division, seems at first like another one of those too-cute kiddie films that tries to anthropomorphize everything. Yet "Chimpanzee" is a bit better than those other films.

That's largely because there's little editing trickery or dramatic license involved. We don't see footage of different chimps and have to pretend it's the same; this is one fellow, "Oscar," from one clan, trying to survive.

It's a difficult task. Times are tough. Resources are scarce. That encourages selfishness within the group -- and new threats from outside it, as others try to move in on its territory.

In the middle of all of this is Oscar, a typical toddler who scampers around, bothers the adults and needs constant attention, instruction, protection -- and love.

It's wrong, scientists may say, to look for human emotions in beasts. Yet feelings are everywhere here: fear, anger, concern. Ingenuity, as the chimps use tools to open nuts. And coldness, too, as they hunt small monkeys for food.

The aftermath of that hunt happens off camera, as does most of the film's violence. It's meant to spare the feelings of tiny fans -- "But where did the monkey go? " I heard one ask after a fatal encounter -- but it can confuse adults, as well.

"Chimpanzee" is not for folks expecting a rigorous scientific exploration, yet the film is interesting and affecting in its own right, and a good match for young animal lovers.